George Strait's Biggest Blessings: His Wife, Grandchild – and Fishing

How does a king count his blessings? If you're George Strait, it's not so easy.

"I can't count them all, there are so many," the country icon tells PEOPLE Country's Kay West, in a rare interview – his first in five years.

Topping the list is his 41-year marriage to wife Norma.

"We love each other and we still like each other," he says of the secret to their relationship's longevity. "We're so blessed that we were able to experience this life together, to support each other through everything, good times and bad."

Those good times include another blessing, the birth of their first grandchild, George Harvey Strait III, in February.

"He's just so special, you just have no idea until it happens," the 60-year-old new granddad says, adding that he's planning to share his love of fishing with the tyke as soon as the little one can hold a pole.

"I love to fish. You can go hours without anything happening, and all of a sudden a big blue marlin comes into the spread and it's cockpit chaos," says Strait, who counts the 600-lb. blue marlin he snared among his finest fishing moments. "My dream is to catch a grander, a 1,000 pounder."

Strait will soon have a little more time to spend on the water after announcing his final tour, "The Cowboy Rides Away," which begins in 2013.

The singer, who has sold more than 65 million albums and scored more than 50 No. 1 hits, admits the decision to leave the road life wasn't easy. "I lost a lot of sleep thinking about it," he says.

For more on Strait – including exclusive photos – along with blessings from stars like Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Reba, pick up the new copy of PEOPLE Country, available Friday

For free holiday music downloads from Brad Paisley, Scotty McCreery and Lady Antebellum go to PEOPLE.com/free